UBM Electronics, a UBM company and the daily source of info for the electronics industry’s decision makers. Today they are gonna rock out cross country tour to show the best of the Chevrolet Volt.

Sponsored by Avnet Express, the e-Commerce engine for Avnet Electronics Marketing, an operating group of Avnet, Inc. (NYSE: AVT), this year-long road trip begins in July. EE Times’ Editorial Director Brian Fuller will be driving a fire-engine-red Volt to innovation hubs across America; interviewing engineers, entrepreneurs, innovators, students and the occasional “mad scientist” – all while blogging and posting video updates about his experiences.

As the ultimate road trip unfolds, Fuller will highlight not only these inspiring stories, but detail the electronics innovation behind the Volt and the future of plug-in electric cars.

Beth Ely, senior vice president of Avnet Express said, “The Drive for Innovation tour embodies Avnet’s passion for promoting innovation in technology. Our customers, big and small, are the engineers of tomorrow’s ‘next big thing;’ this tour will not only highlight cutting-edge technology, but also ways that Avnet is supporting innovation through our supply and design chain services and technical support programs.”

As the e-Commerce engine for Avnet Electronics Marketing, Avnet Express gives design engineers and purchasing professionals access to the world’s largest catalog of electronic component products, which tops 5 million parts. Avnet Express offers parametric searching capabilities and the ability to upload a bill of materials (BOM) for easier sourcing of products and a consistent global platform of localized content. The site can be accessed in nine languages and 13 currencies.

Paul Miller, CEO of UBM Electronics, said, “The project was in keeping with the spirit of relentless innovation the publishing company has driven since its founding nearly 40 years ago with the launch of EBN and then EE Times.”

“We were thrilled that Avnet came to us with this challenge because we share a common goal: to best serve the needs of electronics engineers in fun and creative ways,” Miller said.

The multi-faceted “Drive for Innovation”is anchored by a website, www.driveforinnovation.com, that features content from the road trip, a drive tracker and interactive map that highlights the tour, as well as games and prizes to fuel community engagement.

Upcoming cities on the first leg of the “Drive for Innovation” road trip include:

Chicago

Milwaukee

Detroit

Cleveland

New York

Check www.driveforinnovation.com for upcoming locations and sign up to follow the stories and request the Volt to pull into your town or city for a visit.

To learn more about Avnet Express, visit avnetexpress.com. To follow the “Drive for Innovation” and the Chevrolet Volt travel across the United States, visit www.driveforinnovation.com.

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The Green Living Guy, Seth Leitman is a green living expert, celebrity and Editor of the McGraw-Hill, TAB Green Guru Guides. Seth is also an Author, Radio Host, Reporter, Writer and a Environmental Consultant on green living. The Green Living Guy writes about green living, green lighting, the green guru guides and more. Seth's books range from:
# Build Your Own Electric Vehicle by Bob Brant and Seth Leitman (2nd and 3rd editions)
# Build Your Own Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle by Seth Leitman
# Build Your Own Electric Motorcycle by Carl Vogel
# Green Lighting by Seth Leitman, Brian Clark Howard and Bill Brinsky
# Solar Power For Your Home by David Findley
# Renewable Energies For Your Home by Russel Gehrke
# Do-it-Yourself Home Energy Audits by David Findley
# Build Your Own Small Wind Power System by Brian Clark Howard and Kevin Shea
# and more green living books to follow.